City gets grant to assist police in fighting crime

• Battle Creek is one of 11 cities to receive Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program funding
• The city will receive $83,260 in the first portion of the grant

Battle Creek is one of 11 cities nationwide and the only city in Michigan to receive a first round of grant funding to reduce crime and improve public safety in a program that could lead to another $1 million in assistance.

Working with the Urban League of Battle Creek and Neighborhoods Inc., the Battle Creek Police Department will receive $83,260. Police Chief Jim Blocker said the grant should allow it to research ways to improve communication and connectedness between law enforcement and the city.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs makes the grants in two rounds. The second-round grant could be as large as $1 million. The Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program is data-based and aims to reduce crime in neighborhoods where there are significant levels of illegal activity.

Blocker said when he heard the funding was available he began to reach out to those affiliated with the Neighborhood Planning Councils and City Commissioner Lynn Ward Gray.

“There’s been a disconnect between law enforcement and our community and we can’t have that,” said Blocker. “It isn’t us versus them, it’s we and together.”

Blocker also said by bringing in outside resources the department will be able to study gaps in the community. He said there is already a generational gap from the police department’s lack of appearance in local schools -- a problem he said he’s working to resolve.

“We’ve lost some ground and the grant will help fund that,” he said.

Gray said the city earning the grant shows there are more people looking at this as a problem and it needs to be addressed to make the community safer and stronger.

“I love that it combines community and residents in trying to solve the problem,” Gray said.

In 9-0 vote, the commission also approved a 5-year contract for the Battle Creek Police Department to provide Bedford Township with police services. The contract will include monthly and administrative costs between $775,000 and $800,000 a year. The township will pay $80,000 annually to the Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch service.

Call Olivia Lewis at 966-0581. Follow her on Twitter: @TheWrittenPeace